Mum’s the word for losing weight
IF Jo Culley ever needs encouragement from her Slimming World consultant she can just give her a call as class leader Nickie Bennett is her daughter.
Jo and Nickie, of Kings Norton, joined the group together last April and have been so successful that Nickie has just agreed to take it over.
And losing four-and-a-half stone between them, they are proving to the rest of the group that success is within their grasp.
It was 26-year-old Nickie who first decided to join the group which meets at Kings Norton Baptist Church after the birth of her two children, three-year-old Annabelle and one-year-old Connie, left her wanting to shift a few pounds.
“I had just had my second baby and didn’t shift the pounds and I still had the weight left over from the first baby,” she says. “I wasn’t really that worried about counting the weight, it was about losing that baby blubber.”
And Nickie, who is married to childhood sweetheart Andrew, a 28-year-old plumber, had no sooner started losing the pounds than her mum joined as well.
“I was about 15 stone when I started but I never had a target weight. I actually got stuck into it and started losing weight quite quickly,” says Nickie, who works part-time as a school receptionist.
“I did it because I wanted to feel better and I quickly did start to feel better. Now I feel fantastic. I can get back into the clothes that I could wear before I had the babies and that feels great.”
Nickie’s enthusiasm was soon clocked and she was asked to take over the group.
“I really enjoyed doing the talks and giving my opinions on things so I was asked if I wanted to take over as our consultant was leaving. I was really honoured to be asked and really wanted to do it.”
After qualifying in a series of diplomas and taking part in training days, Nickie has just taken over the weekly class, which meets each Tuesday night.
“The group is really friendly and feels like a family,” says Nickie. “It is lovely to be able to take it over without having to worry about having to introduce myself to everyone.”
